News Briefs

Never Forget

Each minute, eight people worldwide are infected with HIV and another five die from HIV or AIDS. In Sub-Saharan Africa, five people each minute are infected with HIV and four people die. In the United States, someone is infected every 13 minutes, and someone dies every 33 minutes. And there's particular concern about women. "Many women believe they are not at risk for the disease, but they may not know they are at risk," says Marion Deeds, of the Sonoma County Commission on AIDS. "Everyone should make an HIV test part of their regular health checkup." Sonoma County comes together on World's AIDS Day, on Saturday, Dec. 1, to remember loved ones lost to this disease. Names of the deceased will be read aloud as part of a special memorial quilt display in Guerneville, and during an evening interfaith memorial service. See Events in our calendar, p45.

Cameo Continues

The images will keep flickering inside St. Helena's old-time, single-screen Cameo Cinema even after mid-December, when Charlotte Wagner is stepping down after more than a decade of running the place. Enter Shawn LaRue of St. Helena and Cathy Buck of Oakville, who are buying the theater, leasing it from landlord Lydia Money of St. Helena. Built in 1915, the building boasts an art nouveau façade with a V-shaped marquee. LaRue and Buck plan to continue showing first-run movies at Napa County's only upvalley movie house.

Barking at Geese

Corte Madera in Marin County is renting border collies to control more than a hundred aggressive wild geese in two local parks. "They leave approximately two pounds of excrement a day in the park, each goose," explains Jackie Branch, Corte Madera's recreation and parks director. "It's acidic excrement, so it's not good for the soil." It's also not good for children playing soccer and other games in the parks. The town council amended the local laws banning all canines in parks to allow service dogs starting Dec. 20. Branch hopes to begin employing goose-scaring collies soon after that—before nesting season starts. She's getting bids from two East Bay companies which rent out border collies for goose patrol; one company charges $1,100 a month on a one-year contract. "The dogs will not touch a downed goose," Branch explains. "They will go to it and point but they will not touch it." The collies won't be used after nearby schools have let out for the day. "They don't want the kids chasing after the dogs."